CN1625691A - Drive arrangement for a strip of cuvettes in an analytical device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive arrangement for a series of cuvettes (C) forming a strip (2) fixed by means of a film (3) in an automatic analytical device (1), comprising at least one toothed belt (12), the teeth of which engage with the corresponding forms of the cuvettes. The above finds application in an automatic analytical device, particularly for the determination of the rate of change of the physical state of a medium.

Description

Drives for vessel belts in analytical instruments

technical field

The present invention relates to the improvement of an automatic analytical instrument, which can be used in particular to determine the time of a change in the physical state of a medium.

Background technique

This apparatus finds particular, but not exclusive application in determining the clotting time of blood according to a method in which a blood sample is placed at the bottom of a vessel containing a ferromagnetic pellet which is subjected to an external magnetic field. Periodic movement. Changes in globule motion (eg, changes in amplitude and/or frequency) represent changes in the physical state of the blood and can therefore be detected by suitable means.

Patent EP0325874 filed by the company Diagnostica Stago proposes such an instrument.

The apparatus includes a dispenser of single-use vessels, each vessel comprising an inwardly curved base and an open surface opposite the base, the base forming a rolling path for the pellets. Two edges at right angles to the surface of the vessel extend from the lateral edge of the opening. The vessels are placed side by side and are removably fastened to a soft support band that closes their openings. The containerized belt may be wound on a reel which may engage a hub located in a storage and dispensing compartment of the apparatus. The vessels travel one by one in an inspection station.

It has been found that this method has the disadvantage of not ensuring that the vessel is well seated in the inspection station. Therefore, the analysis of the ball movement may be wrong. This can lead to the danger of errors in the analysis results.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the object of the present invention is in particular to eliminate these disadvantages.

To this end, the invention proposes a driving device for a row of vessels forming a belt in an automatic analytical instrument and linked together by a membrane, the device comprising at least one belt with notches which engage appropriate configurations of the vessels.

Advantageously, the vessel can have an opening through which two opposite edges extend, protruding towards the outside of the vessel, the formation being realized at the edges.

Alternatively, each of said edges may have two edges inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the belt, so that the belt/vessel assembly has two toothed sides.

Thus, the belt/vessel assembly has the function of a rack.

In addition, each side edge of the film has a toothed profile, the toothing of the profile being reinforced by the presence of the edge of the vessel.

The drive positions the vessel by the engagement of the notches of the belt between the teeth of the film/vessel assembly.

This device has no play in maneuvering in one direction or the other.

Description of drawings

A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to accompanying drawing, and accompanying drawing is as follows:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a medium-sized automated analytical instrument;

Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a vessel installed on a film;

Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of the film and rack drive system with the vessel;

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view along A/A in FIG. 3 .

Detailed ways

In this example, the automated analytical device 1 is concerned with a supply of vessels, having a row of hundreds of vessels C, which form a belt 2 .

As shown in Fig. 2, the vessels C are molded from a transparent plastic, each vessel having a parallelepipedal flat body whose inwardly curved base F1 forms the roll of a small ball BE of ferromagnetic material. path. The vessel C has an opening opposite to the bottom F1, two opposite sides BO ₁ , BO ₂ extending at right angles to the opening into two edges R ₁ , R ₂ , each of the edges R ₁ , R ₂ has a A cylindrical protrusion PC extending from the opposite side of the main body. These two protrusions are intended to engage forcefully in holes TR provided on the two sides of the membrane respectively. For example, the shape of the edges R ₁ and R ₂ is an isosceles trapezoid, and its large bottom is integrated with the container. The sides of a support film 3 have trapezoidal cutouts in the distance between the edges R ₁ , R ₂ of the adjoining vessel, the hypotenuses of these trapezoidal cutouts extending at the hypotenuse of the edges R ₁ , R ₂ . Due to this arrangement, each side of the film has a toothed profile, the teeth of which are reinforced by the presence of the vessel edges R ₁ , R ₂ .

The film is soft and made of an absorbent material, such as paper. The membrane has a hole 4 drilled above each vessel to allow a small tube to pass through.

According to the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 , the belt 2 of vessels is guided by a rail 5 . The cross-section of the _track is U-shaped, its two vertical flanks extending at right angles to two edges R ₃ , R ₄ , on which the edges _{R 1} , R ₂ of the vessel are located. The belt of utensils passes successively through a pipetage station 6 , a testing station 7 and a cutting station 8 , at the exit of which each utensil is recovered in a chute 9 provided for the purpose.

The operation of these different stations is managed by a processor P. The processor P comprises a central unit and some peripheral devices, such as a screen 10 and keyboard 11 .

The drive of the film is ensured by a drive mechanism which drives a continuous belt 12, each end of which is guided by rollers 13, 14, one of which is driven in rotation by a stepper motor M. The belt includes cutouts at a distance equal to the width of a number of vessels (eg 4-5 vessels). These notches have a circular involute-shaped profile equivalent to that of a normal toothed rack, so as to engage perfectly between the teeth of the belt's toothed profile; they therefore drive the vessel belt exactly, and are self-centering and compensate for possible play (The cuts engage between the teeth either deeply or shallowly).

A vertical automatic small tube 15 leads to the filling station 6, the small tube 15 is movable in height so that a low position for filling or flushing can be adopted and a high position can be moved in a horizontal plane.

The small tube 15 is fixed at one end of an arm 16 , the other end of which is mounted on a vertical axis 17 and is rotatable about the axis 17 . A motor controlled by the processor P ensures the rotation of the arm 16 .

Small tubes 15 can be taken successively by this particularly simple mechanism to the tube loading area of the tube loading station 6, to a diametrically opposite rinsing area 18 with one or more rinsing tanks, and to the two tube loading areas 6 and rinsing areas. 18 through the axisymmetric sampling area 19,20.

Sampling zones 19, 20 are located in the path of containers R ₁ , R ₂ carried by two cyclic conveyors CR ₁ , _{CR 2 rotating around} two vertical axes 21 , 22 and subject to Control of the motors manipulated by the two processors P.

One of the two circulatory conveyors CR ₁ is used for container R ₁ containing the blood sample to be analyzed, while the other cyclic conveyor CR ₂ is equipped with container R ₂ which is used to the extent that it _is desired to carry out the analysis different reactants.

Processor P is, of course, programmed to control the sequence of tube loading appropriate to the analysis to be performed, and may in turn include:

- pre-flushing of tubule 15;

- sampling of a dose in a container R ₁ of the cyclic delivery device CR ₁ ;

- injecting the dose into a container C located in the filling station 6;

- washing tubule 15;

- sampling of a dose of reactant in a container R ₂ of the cyclic delivery device CR ₂ ;

- injecting the reagent into vessel C;

- The identification of the blood sample to be analyzed and the reagent sample is automatically performed by the barcode reader 23 which can read the barcodes present on the containers _R1 and _R2 carried by the circular conveyors _CR1 and _CR2 .

In this example, for these readings, a single barcode reader 23 is mounted on one end of an arm 24 that can be turned about a vertical axis 25 so that it can occupy three positions, namely:

- reading position P ₁ of the barcode of the container R ₁ of a circular conveyor CR ₁ ;

- the reading position _P2 of _the barcode of the container _R2 of a circular conveyor CR2;

- A reading position _P3 of a container placed by a user on a reading station, for example in order to obtain information obtained by the processor within the operating range of the instrument.

Here, the measuring station 7 comprises three positions where measurements are taken in sequence, each position ( FIG. 4 ) comprising a pair of coaxial spacer magnets E ₁ , E' 1 -E 2 , E' ₁ -E ₂ , E' ₂ -E ₃ , E' ₃ .

Measuring Station 7 also includes:

- an infrared light source 26 located above the vessel;

- An electronic camera 27 located under the vessel and carried by a membrane on which the image of the sphere illuminated by the light source is projected.

The use of several measuring positions on the path of the film has the advantage of allowing great operational flexibility.

The electromagnets E ₁ , E' ₁ -E ₂ , E' ₂ -E ₃ , E' ₃ are excited by a power circuit PR operated by a processor P to generate a pulsed magnetic field that can drive the ball BE to alternately move at the bottom of the vessel .

The camera 27 is connected to the processor P which analyzes the images in real time according to a suitable software in order to measure the amplitude of the BE oscillation of the ball and to determine the critical moment when the amplitude drops below a certain limit (for example 50% of the initial amplitude) .

Of course, the processor P counts the time between the moment when the reagent is injected into the vessel C and this critical moment in order to derive the setting time.

The movement of the film is synchronized with the runtime of each station of the instrument, in particular with the magnetic field pulses generated by the coils.

The tube loading station can also be co-located with the measuring station.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

For example, each infrared source/camera assembly could have a field comprising multiple vessels, each vessel being actuated by a different pair of electromagnets to follow the vessel a few steps at a time with the programmed processor P to detect different vessels simultaneously the movement of the ball.

Claims (13)

1. the drive unit of a series of vessel (C), vessel are connected together by a film (3), so that in an automatic analytical instrument (1), form a belt (2), this device comprises at least one nicked belt, cutting action to guarantee the driving of belt, is characterized in that on vessel, described vessel have an opening, two opposed edges (R ₁, R ₂) extend at opening part, outstanding to the outside of vessel, the configuration at edge also guarantees the described driving of vessel in addition, to the neutralization location.

2. device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, (PC TR) is fixed on the described edge described film removably.

3. device as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, described edge (R ₁, R ₂) each have two edges with respect to the vertical axis tilt of belt (2), make belt (2)/vessel assembly have the function of a tooth bar.

4. device as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that, described edge (R ₁, R ₂) be shaped as an isosceles trapezoid, the trapezoidal big end, be connected with vessel (C).

5. device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, each side of film (3) has toothed profile, vessel edge (R ₁, R ₂) existence described tooth is strengthened.

6. device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described belt is the continuous belt (12) of every end by roller (13,14) guiding.

7. device as claimed in claim 6 is characterized in that, at least one roller is driven by a motor (M) and rotates.

8. device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, the otch of described belt is at a distance of a distance that equals the multiple of vessel (C) width.

9. device as claimed in claim 8 is characterized in that, described otch has the involute of circle profile corresponding to the tooth bar of a normal profile of tooth.

10. device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described vessel (C) are fixing removably.

11. device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described vessel are guided by a track (5).

12. device as claimed in claim 11 is characterized in that, described track (5) has a U-shaped cross-section, and its two vertical flanks are by two edge (R ₃, R ₄) prolongation meets at right angles.

13. as claim 11 or 12 described devices, it is characterized in that, the edge of vessel (C) (R1, R2) place track (5) the edge (R3, R4) on.

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